Maia Toakley

Sydney

— June 11, 2017 —

Little ripper Maia hails from the sunny shores of North Bondi, Sydney. She acknowledges that it was a “very privileged part of the world to grow up in” and is super “lucky to have done that, and continue to do so.” Outside of the heavenly beach, she vibes the close-knit community in that pocket of the world, and says her neighbours have “now become my second family, and are apart of some of my best childhood memories.” Lit!

She’s had a lot of advice hurled her way over the years, but the one that takes the cake is her mum’s recco to “walk the talk” and to take every opportunity that comes her way, especially since now that she’s fresh outta school. If she gave up social media, she would definitely “gain so much extra time”, and is now contemplating giving it a crack. Get it! If she was ~forced~ to, she’d eat a strict diet of pancakes and waffles for the rest of her days. Her focuses for 2017 is giving modelling a good crack, and travelling around the Greek islands with her Aussie mates. Jea-lous.

She got scouted while she was busking (singing and playing guitar) — prior to that hadn’t really been exposed to the modelling world, so doesn’t really follow many other models. However, she thinks Christy Turlington is a classic beauty and loves that she used her platform to pursue humanitarian work, and loves Karlie Kloss and how she’s “developed a strong career in industries other than modelling.” Oh, and Bella Hadid for her style. Hunnid.

She’s currently based in Milan and, despite it being hot AF, she loves it. If you’re in the hood, she suggests you check out the huge galleries at Duomo (Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II), the restaurant at 10 Corso Como (which has a “nice courtyard and cool garden vibes”), and the rooftop bar Ceresio 7 (which was “next level chic with a huge pool.” If anyone with lots of $$$ is reading this, please book me the next flight there!

Maia identifies as a feminist and thinks it “would be hard not to.” While she is yet to “go out and actively fight for women’s rights”, she thinks that being a “confident young woman, and not being pressured by the rest of society to conform to standards previously placed on women, is already taking a stand in terms of not letting society define what it is to be a woman.” Female relationships are super important to her because “if we are each fighting our own battles alone, it becomes easy to lose perspective and hope, however, if we form these strong female relationships we automatically grow stronger both individually and as a gender race. A support system which can provide a sense of security is incredibly important if we want to reach our potential.” *Standing ovation.*

In the next ten years, she hopes that religion stops dividing our world, and that “egos can be put aside so that we can create a more harmonious society.” Hear that, Trump? She (rightly) believes that shift would reduce gender inequality, and in particular the attitude that women are not as capable/strong as men, which is what irks her (and us) most.

To her, being ‘cool’ is being completely comfy and confident in yourself, and “not caring what others think.” On the money!